All Comments on 'Behind the Walls of Ivy'

Great story from a great author.

Agree with oshaw, an excellent story from one of the best.

Nicely put together, a few cliches but what's really new anyway. 4*

those that carry over into a household. TK U MLJ LV NV

First off, its wonderful to see this author active again. FM is fearless about changing the settings of his morality tales and had a lot of fun exploring the seamy side of high-toned academia. The characters were not quite as fresh , but by now the formula of up and coming, naive, earnest to a fault narrator who pays back the brazen spouse along with accomplice louse is a tried amd true formula.

Bottom line: this was a journeyman five star effort. The dialogue was a little shrill . Here and there the action waxed a bit rote and yet over the top (graduation speech ), but overall there were constant sage and sly stretches of narrative to keep things fresh like the female 'blow and go' dismissal and then the switch with Shale discovering the proverst's true lover - very well played.

FM lulled me in again into thinking I knew it all. Well I don't, but thanks to this author I can count on bring a little more informed and very amused

at the conclusion of almost every story he's kind enough to share. *****

Whenever I see an FM story pop up, my first thought is to save it, to put it away and savor it later. Sadly, my willpower is weak and I gobble it up, then and there, like a fat kid in a grocery store.

Thanks, FM.

I have seen the creepiest most bizarre behavior from people that have spent their whole lives in the institutional environment. From grade school to high school to college to grad school and then into a life either as a teacher or a professor this path seems to often lead to the formation of a very strange mind. It seems to stunt emotional development. For people that are supposed to have open minds for critical thinking these "educated" people have so little life experience and what they do have is in such a narrow vein. Universities and colleges are notorious for the bad behavior of their professors. They generally do not make the internet, but their high school versions do on Iheartmyteacher.com. There are a lot of sick, selfish and foolish people in academia.

Even people with analytical minds falls prey to their hormones. Harvard research shows as much with sense of power involved. It changes behavioral conduct. I love the use of geochemistry in this story. If he ever found a concentration of europium, he would be a rich man.

What the fuck was this about? waffle upon waffle..

I was SURE he was going to be with Annika, even though I DID see some strong hints of attraction from Mosa earlier.

And I have NO idea what the Anon before me is bitching about!

Thanks for sharing.

I would normally say the murder/suicide was a cop out but in actuality, a divorce would have most likely cheapened this story. I knew he'd end up with one of the grad assistants but frankly, thought it would be both (well deserved karma) and after Annika catches Robert it could still end up that way. That is a future never to be known.

Another fine take from one of this sections most talented pens. 5* and a FAV

Interesting how the single anonymous comment was the only idiotic comment.

A geology professor named "Shale?" What about his wife "Feldspar?" Oh, well, you are entitled to your little jokes Mr Hemingway. Well done story that has more than a little painful relevance to anyone having any dealings with academia after the student stage. Interesting that the wife only showed some emotion and humanity when she was shooting her lover. I liked. 5* for characters, milieu, and ending that while melodramatic was appropriate for the wifes character.

Stories like this one on my why you shouldn't throw 4 or 5 star ratings at every mediocre little work that happens to fit your philosophical leanings. Giving a story like this five stars just doesn't mean as much when you are giving the same score to amateurish pieces, solely on the basis of "bitch got burned."

As a side note, I never like the death endings. Studies repeatedly show that being cheated on has a lasting emotional impact, even among those who find love again (so do this site comments sections, I guess). So while death is the ultimate consequence, he had to live with the memory of her cheating...she did not.

Great plot and stellar writing style. That's for the effort.

really very very erotic . my telephonebook has more erotic in it. your on the wrong page. you write good but you miss the target.

I can honestly say that I have enjoyed every one of the stories you have posted on line. Each one is fairly unique has a good amount of drama and a fairly positive outcome. Other authors sometimes resort to a formulaic approach to tell their stories and each one of your seems fresh and well thought out.

Keep up the great work. I admire anyone who has the confidence to post a little piece of himself on this, or any other site. That said you are one of a handful of authors that I read without looking at the caption. I know immediately that I will enjoy the offering.

Keep up the great work.

So good to see a good story here after the dearth of decent writing for the last few weeks.

Good story and good reading...

Thanks but no thanks

As usual a well written story!

...As usual, you have outdone yourself!

There is only one thing I can find wrong with your stories. THERE AREN'T ENOUGH!

5 stars.

love reading your stories.

Have to agree. Everything you write is tremendous. Have re-read everyone of your stories, even this one :)

Thank you and keep it up.

Looked like a standard story until it started twisting. Sad story but well written story.

But this story went no where. The guy was treated like shit by the wife, found out that she was a cheater and she then she solved all of his problems immediately with a murder-suicide. That really isn't a plot to speak of. This was a very well written, but barely plotted story. Where is the tension? The surprises? The twists? Think about it. If you outlined this, it would take three lines. This is a case of very good technical skills combined with an excellent, (and well deserved) reputation, carrying the writer through a mediocre effort. The strange public murder/suicide was very much a "deus ex machine" and simply saved the writer any effort in bringing the story home to a conclusion.

I had two thoughts on this story.

First, when I looked at the page count and he was barely sleeping on the couch the first time, I thought this was too short for a tale such as this. It begs comparison to oshaw's lovely 'Equation'. But to do the twists, turns and grappling with administration, a proxy fight between the 'bad' administrators' and the 'saintly' professors....well, it would take at least 10 pages. So it felt a trifle rushed at the end.

But second, like a ski jump, at first when things get started, they seem S-L-O-W! Same issue. We took SO MUCH TIME establishing Shale as the best friend a girl ever had that we took precious page count away from the plot and the man/wife, (or more critically the man/admin) thread, which should have been the major plot point.

Now, what did I like? Very few people here write as well as FM does. It was a delight to read as always and I had a quirky grin when I saw his byline. I don't read anywhere near every story.

The story of Perry was quite poignant. I am reminded of poor Mr. Loring. Mrs. Loring was the mistress of British General Howe. How do you save your wife if the man taking her has an army? One doesn't. So too Perry had to accept the horns to find something better for himself. Too bad he got short changed. I expect mirrors would be a larger issue for him in the future.

I expected a few different twists. I thought Perry was sleeping with Sylvia. I expected Salt and Pepper to try to set up Slate, or perhaps one of the other students. So it had a reasonable amount of surprises.

The Unoriginalist is fully correct. I get tired of people dropping 5's or 1's on stories according to...nothing. If JPB writes one of his usual cream pie slurping stories with his usual verve and panache, he certainly deserves more than a 1 no matter how loathsome I find that one detail.

when you see Francis has added another story to a long list of really excellent stories. This one in particular I believe you could have made into a much larger story. It has a great story line and a lot of things that could happen to the players.

You are a really good writer and I look forward to your submissions. Thanks for all the work it takes. I know that writing these stories has to take a great deal of effort and time, thanks again.

The geologist is named professor Shale....heh heh. That's gneiss!

And the story was rockin'. Thanks for your effort, I marble at your skill!

You received good numbers on the story list, but I wasn't too taken with it. A bit drawn out and predictable excepting the part where Sylvia blows her pea brain out.

The end was good, I'll give you that. Thanks! Cheers!

I hope this isn't an evaluation of academia in general. if it is based on life experiences, there must be some unhappy history, at university and in married life, or both.

Spent 10 years as adjunct faculty. Occasionally I had classes at 2 and sometimes 3 different schools in the same day. We called ourselves "Freeway Flyers" running all over So Cal for work. Fortunately, I had other freelance work to fill in the frequent unemployed semesters. Adjunct faculty are, indeed, treated like shit.

Despite familiarity with the people and setting, I couldn't engage with this story or with the characters. Miz Sarah is a hard act to follow.

The detail about academia today is dead spot on,for the 60k you pay each year,you het classes taught by someone making 2k to teach it or a grad student,in a,sense teaching college as an adjunct is less money than working home depot.

The story itsels is sad and old as the hills,power and corruption.Sylvia was a little too cardboard,she would have realized being a professor was not glamorous before marrying him,you got to college you realize teaching is not glamorous pretty fast.

FM's stories are good or excellent, however the majority of the only good stories of FM are interesting as this. I think the excellent stories as the "Six O'Clock News Slot" or the "Honey Trap" are more interesting. I agree the suicid was over the top and without suicid we had got a SS06 long story.......................FM avoided the 12 pages long story with the death of Sylvia. FM have a suicide wife story too and I think that story is more understanable for me!

Duna

I liked the Geology Professor being named "Shale". Too funny. Nice little twist to see him end up with Mosa and not Annika. Keep writing. I enjoy your stories. One comment on some of the "comments"? I swear if William Shakespeare were alive today and posting on this site, he'd get 2's and 3's. I know you can't please all of the people all of the time but geez people what do you want?

I hate having to write a comment after Hard Day's Night! The guy always beats me to it.

First, I absolutely agree this was a great story; a five all the way. Yes, an 'FM' is reminiscent of the older 'real' Loving Wives stories that send me bustling back to HDK, JPB, Ohio, and the other real writers. (Please no one feel bad if I left you out.)

However, I believe, like HDK, FM did take the easy way out. The story ended like an old western or a modern TV mystery; a car or horse chase, a fist fight or gun duel, and the round up of all the crooks.

I don't think Sylvia would have gone off like that. Based on my impression of her character this was a woman who would have stumbled a little, reconnoitered the devastated landscape, and then tried to repair her marriage until the next time. Maybe I'm wrong but she seemed too much like the 'cold blooded snake' to go off the deep end like she did.

It would have a lot of fun to see how Shale might have handled a sad, despondent, and incredibly confused and sorry Sylvia. Would he have been suckered again, or would he have allowed her to try to rework her 'magic' and then drop her? We'll never get to know. FM killed her.

Then again wouldn't Shale the hero have wrestled the pistol out of Sylvia's shaking hand before she took her own life. Wouldn't he have cradled her in his arms, kissed her tear stained cheeks, forgiven her, and then taken her home? That could have been a cool ending too.

Ah, and oh yes. It had to be Mosa, certainly not Annicka. After all wasn't it Mosa who kept bringing him the food. Shale needed the 'mother hen', and he got her.

I was actually in bed this morning thinking about how long it had been since I read a new FM story. And then my dream became reality.

Five stars. Always love your stories. I really appreciate that you resisted the typical LW formula where the wife begs forgiveness and claims it meant nothing. This was a sensational ending.

'tis a problem in academia, and elsewhere - power is attractive, and the people in power are not necessarily any wiser than the rest of us.

I've been an academic at various levels. This kinda thing in small (shootouts at Ivy graduations? Not often) happens quite a bit.

Look, Shale was no hero here - he is also using the power of his position, be it intellect or "instructor" - that is how he got his wife, and that is how he got his second chance woman.

My position is that ones' students look to you for reassurances and support of their technical achievements - diluting that with romance really messes with their mind.

As a story, the characters seemed underdeveloped. You had way too many - the president, the presidents' wife, the provost, the friend, the friends wife, the wife, the protagonist, the graduate student(s)... you weren't going to do well by all of them, and ended up not doing well by any of them. The situation was better described than the characters. I indicate my problems with the moral dilemma above - if you were to give Shale even a touch of appreciation of his hypocrisy it would have improved the story. And of course the wife was left with no way out - she had hitched her wagon to the next best thing, and found out she was being taken advantage of more than her husband was. She was a total and complete fool. That piece of reality can motivate some seriously extreme behavior.

Honestly? I see this as the author doing SS06.... 'tis not my place to make snide comments (wait until I publish some fiction) here... but I know y'all can do better.

I wait eagerly for your next one.

Green-something

Another great story from one of the great authors on this site. I always feel a connection with the hero with a realistic and believable storyline.

Sure she was hurt over hearing her lover say he was going to dump her . She was a shrew . There is no way this type of person would strike out in such a fashion on graduation day . Take a weapon and shoot him and herself just to end this story. F.M I loved your miz Sara stories the best to bad you left the behind . In the past. Ps I can see the university payout to him in. 7 plus figures.

I couldn't keep my exposure to university administrators from getting in the way. Decent sorts, mostly passive beta males who couldn't pull off anything like this. I know, it's fiction. You write well enough to pull me in anyway.

Just a great story. Thanks for sharing.

The plot has a couple of interesting twists, and the protagonist lives in a world we all (should) know about; on the other hand the language is wooden (e.g, compare Lucy1970Harker's style and use of the English language) and there is very little erotic (i.e., erotic: of, relating to, or tending to arouse sexual desire or excitement) about what the characters are doing. Does any reader wish he were in the protagonist's shoes?

The "and they all lived happily ever after" conclusion was a cop out. The cheating wife offs herself; the villains either die or are ruined, and the protagonist becomes independently wealthy, all in the last page.

5 stars for this...?

It bugs me - and no one else, apparently - that the protagonist gains an overwhelming advantage over his wife, her lover and her lover's wife by committing a felony or two. Surreptitious audio and/or video taping - that is, without the actors' permission - is a felony in every state in which there is an Ivy League school - and, I believe, in every state where there is not such a school. It shows a lack of interest on the part of the author to use such a device to make possible the outcome he desires. Beats working it out the hard way.

So it's a felony, you say. So what? Well - what if the plot hinged on the sun rising in the west (assuming the author was not holding the story out as science fiction)?

It was very suspenseful and well though out. It is on a proffesional level. Some are judging it on that level. If I were the author I would take that as a complement. This story was gripping. It held my attention from beginning to end. It is difficult to write a story that is both erotic and interesting on a higher level. This story could hold up well without the sex. Thanks for penning such a wonderful gripping tale. Five giant stars!

Mostly well written, nicely fleshed out characters except for Slyvia & a good plot with some neat twists, however there was just the X factor missing that would have made this a 5. So it's only a 4 ****

Once again, there's this American thing with guns & how seemingly easy it seems to be for every idiot & his dog ( who's usually smarter ) to have access to a firearm. As any intelligent person knows guns don't usually kill people, it's the dumdass with their finger on the trigger. Still I suppose if you took the gun out of this story it would have necessitated a different ending, oh well.........

If that your only complaint... Then this is a good story. He only shared the existence of the tape with small handful of people and not in court of law. Yes it was a felony. But hell this is FICTION... NOT EVERYTHING WILL MESH WITH REALITY AND THE LAW,

GOOD STORY

THANKS FOR THE GOOD READ

Felony? Are you sure? I'm not a lawyer, or pretend to be one on TV, but offices of Universities are fairly public - is there an assumption of privacy there? Further, if there were privacy protection in University offices sufficient to prohibit prosecution of sexual harassment, then it would be changed quickly.

Okay, after a short bit of search and read... (danger! only a little bit of knowledge!) it appears that reasonable expectation of privacy is the controlling concept, generally. The University is the owner of the buildings and offices of the campus - while the University as an institution may have such expectation, employees of the institution almost certainly do not. Your computers (particularly if supplied by the university or connected to the network) are subject to search at a University, for example - don't do porn! Really don't do kiddie porn! If you are in the commission of a felony, then you can be kept from that commission... in this story, the protagonist might be on more solid ground if he then went into the office to stop the harassment. But! Don't count on a prosecution based on privacy rights. The University would be the entity pursuing such prosecution, and they wouldn't want to be on the side protecting a potential harassment issue.

Camila vs.... is the interesting case here. Is she complicit? Is it coerced? Her apparent compliance and possible engagement is not important with the facts in hand. Who initiated the quid pro quo? Orgasm does not remove the finding of rape.

There are lawyers here - perhaps they would like to weigh in.

Green-something

Morant, you seem to be unaware that there is more than one court.

The court of public opinion would crucify the university. They have a women's study department. How will their actions go over with that faculty? Maybe you don't pay attention to politics, but in the book of dirty tricks, taping your political enemies (see Newt Gingrich. He was vilified in the press who didn't care if his taping was legal or not)

It would go out, go viral and every single man who donates to the university will have to answer a few questions from his wife about maybe Bryn Mawr could use the donation instead. All those women who donate and run the alumni associations...well!

Female interns would be scarce as would female applicants. Daddy isn't going to pay for his daughter to be perved on by an administrator. And women make up 60% of college students, so to say this wouldn't be huge is just silly.

The 'hero' (who did nothing but observe things really, A very passive 'hero'. No Beowulf him!) would get a slap on the wrist at worst or could use his 'pay off' to finance his fine/bail/legal defense.

How come the police did not trace the gun back to Annika's parents.

Tracing the source of a gun is easy unless it was stolen.

Otherwise the story was very enjoyable.

Keep up the great work.

People commit felonies every day, DA's have to pick and choose which to prosecute.

Prosecuting a man who caught others engaged in acts that were at the least unethical if not illegal would be a tough sell to a jury.

Then there is the fact that they were not in their or anyone else's home but rather publicly accessible offices and so the expectation of privacy is much less.

The position of DA is an elected office, and often a step toward higher office, appearing to protect sexual predators from discovery would be career suicide.

If they wanted privacy in a public building the restrooms are the best (only?) option.

Shale committed a felony. Maybe his wife will turn him in. Oh wait maybe not. Or maybe another character in the story will turn him in because he confessed to everyone. Wait I guess he didn't. Perhaps the guilt he is so obviously suffering will cause him to turn himself in.

author was creating a group of completely unbelievable people in his story. There wasn't a single scene where I could believe ANY of the behavior or dialog. FrancisMacomber you have absolutely NO skill in writing. Nothing even came close to being believable which makes the entire things a complete waste of time. If your readers cannot buy into your story... then it is a complete failure.

FM, you did it again, another well-written story. And in this case the "Chekhov's Gun' actually did get fired!

Sorry H.H.M. this is the digital age and the immortal supremacy of metadata.

We, you and I, all of us, willingly surrendered our right to privacy to play with the shiny, shiny toys.

Those who disagree are voicing their personal wishful opinion against technological reality.

There's nothing in the story that says the video Shale made was ever revealed to anyone besides Perry, who already knew about what his wife was doing and didn't want to see it, and Sylvia, who didn't live to tell anyone about it. It might have come to light if Shale had gone forward with his suit against the provost, but that went away as well. The women who stood up at graduation and revealed what had been going on were more than enough to blow the lid off everything.

I hope you won't wait so long next time. As always, I enjoyed your writing. I don't think I've ever given you fewer than 5*s.

Thanks again.

Shale is a fucking wimp with a lot of luck

What was lost ,is found. Unfortunately, it is not as good as it used to be !!

Glad to read you again. Keep posting and the stories will get better. Thanks

AMerryMan

Hmmm - I miss your earlier style and stories. That's all.

I have always been fascinated by stories of wives that cheat but love their husbands dearly. House of Cards, ohio: Eleanor Rigby, HDK: Running out of love, StangStar06: But Hon It Was Only Sex, Slirpuff: and too many others to name here. It seems to be a perfect storm of low self esteem (Am I still attractive), Boredom or a rut, a feeling that what they were doing wasn't so bad (everybody does it), and what he doesn't know won't hurt him. These circumstances are so believable it is frightening.

In this story the wife is a cheating shrew. A gold digger if you will. He found out but did not confront her right away! You can't guard pussy! You can stop her once or twice from cheating but 24/7 surveillance and thwarting her plans will tire you of your love for your wife. It has to be her that decides not to do it on her own and not your scaring her with evidence of her planned tryst. At least in a good story.

However if in real life you have proof positive that she is planning to cheat, please confront her before she does. She may claim that she wouldn't have gone through with it but you save a lot of trouble and expense of a divorce. If you have been together for 20+ years and you love her. If she has provided you with a great family and she has been loving and generous most of that time, just stop it . Don't allow the infidelity to take place. Tell her of your proof and have that big fight. Preserve the respect that she has for you by being a bigger person. Just make up and don't rub it in her face. It may take a while but it will be evident in time.

5stars

What the fuck is up with some of you guys? This was an excellent tale. Shale was no cuck. His friend Perry was, and still is. Shale found out the truth and executed his next move. The cheating cunt killed her lover than herself because he lied to her about getting married. Actually that was the best part of the tale. Then he hooked up with a younger woman. No revenge needed. Consequences of cheating took care of that. Now time to more forward and let the cheaters decompose. Fuck them.

Five Stars

Perry was worse than a cuck. He was a pimp who whored his wife for a handful of coins.

OneShotOne you're right. I didn't think of that. It's a shame he wasn't on the hit list.

Thanks.

Great story and always great writing. Is truth stranger than fiction... ? Only The Shadow knows.

Thanks for sharing your great work on Lit.

x

I like your proactive approach, but you're limiting your options if you only confront your wife. My wife loves me and has always been faithful; but she is beautiful, with a friendly, outgoing personality. She attracts men like moths to a flame. I'm not the biggest guy around; but like driving in Atlanta, you learn to be aggressive. I don't give them an inch! If they try to flirt with my wife, they are attacking me. I'm loud and in their face and I'm never embarrassed; but they sure are. I've rarely had to resort to violence. The only drawback to my method has been financial; she's never been able to hold a job with the number co-workers and bosses I've had to slap down over the years. I don't care, she's all mine and we celebrate our 36th anniversary in December.

Another nice story, though I take some exception to your cliches about academia. It's a lot more normal and less ego-driven than most think. I've spent my long career in it, and there is a serious misconception here about the power balance between faculty and the administration. Assistant profs, particularly at the big schools, are treated with kid gloves- at least in the sciences, they are given light teaching loads, minimal committee work, and every opportunity to succeed. They aren't so poor any more either. Regardless, it was a fun story, and the building with the President and the Provost on opposite ends of the floor reminded me of my school. Got to watch those marble halls, though- they echo like hell!

Weak and crumbling, like the stone he's named for! The whore wife had a bigger set than him, right up to the end!

You continue to draw me into your stories through your characters. I actually felt sympathy for Sylvia, even though she had started the affair. Shale had gotten her the job with the Provost, shown her the dvd of the President and his wife, and forgotten about the gun. Added to that he was filing for divorce, which pushed her over the edge if anything was left between them.

She committed murder, and then destroyed herself. Somehow that would bear on my conscience. An unusual sadness compared to your other stories, but still well written. I also thought that Annika would be the one at the end.

The DJ

As quoted by Starmanfive, "However if in real life you have proof positive that she is planning to cheat, please confront her before she does. She may claim that she wouldn't have gone through with it but you save a lot of trouble and expense of a divorce. If you have been together for 20+ years and you love her. If she has provided you with a great family and she has been loving and generous most of that time, just stop it . Don't allow the infidelity to take place. Tell her of your proof and have that big fight. Preserve the respect that she has for you by being a bigger person. Just make up and don't rub it in her face. It may take a while but it will be evident in time."

^^^The song of the CUCKOLD! ^^^

FM is one writer who jumps around in his settings and plot. We do not have the same story from him. Personally I think that he is always a good read.

Intelligent, yes-- suave and debonair, of course--but street smart---for get it.. TK U MLJ LV NV

Too bad that Camille and Perry were exposed as tha pieces of shit that they had become. Well done. As you can see , you got us to respond.

Why feel bad? It sure as hell would not be on my conscience. She initiated the affair all on her own. Offered herself up on the alter of ego and greenbacks. Shale did not put the gun into her hand. Once again the crazy bitch did it all on her own. I rather enjoyed her blowing her own psychotic brains out. My opinion of course.

Just proves once again that there's a huge difference between being educated and being SMART! By the way, the man is a geologist and his name is "Shale"? Ha ha ha ha! Very "punny" of you!

Why was he adamant that he have proof of her infidelity before he filed for divorce? Whether or not she was cheating didn't really matter, because she was treating him like shit anyway. It was apparent that she no longer loved him, only loving prestige. He should have divorced her long before he ever suspected that she was cheating!

She, and the university president, got off way too easy. Should of survived to live the life of shame they deserved.

If the changes to the text are so minor, why should it be so difficult to adjust the lectures and exams?

Now that he’s had a narrow escape, he should probably invest in a hidden camera to protect himself from false charges.

Why in these stories, when the cheaters (or potential cheaters) are at an event where the expect the husband to show up, do they engage in at least mildly inappropriate conduct, and actually make it worse by hastily breaking it off as the husband approaches! And how much could Sylvia tell him about Shale’s work when she probably hasn’t spoken to him about it in like forever?

"Tonight was just for you, remember? I haven't paid you enough attention lately, and I wanted to make up for it." – Can you say “mercy blow job”? She obviously has caught on to his suspicions and is trying to cool him down. And awfully coincidental that the BJ comes the night before she has to “work late”.

Interesting how she refuses to believe him that HIS absence was innocent, yet expects him to take her at her word. Also, now that she has gone, he should remove the lock from the bedroom door!

How much do you want to bet that Perry has either been promised, or at least hopes to get, tenure for himself as well as full-time for Camille?

For all of Eric’s put downs of the faculty, without the faculty there would BE no administration!

Kind of the Ultimate BTB, even if she did the final burn to herself!

Fun story, but I can't understand the want to find Europium for monitors... It's not like the cathode ray tube is in great demand, or ever will be again. CRT's have been almost completely replaced by LCD's.

On a revolver ?

I didn't know they had one. Mine didn't, anyway.

Good story, well-told

Thank you

HP

"It's just sex - what's the big deal?" – Once again, the HUSBAND is expected to accept that “it’s just sex”, but what if HE decided to have a little “just sex”? Think everyone would just look the other way? I think not!

"You two head on home; I'll take it from here." – He should take them along to have witnesses.

He should have shown Perry the video, show him how much Camille actually enjoyed the sex with Eric!

The dude pimped his wife for a student loan debt and I have to laugh that she did not get the job but they both got fucked. The marriage will not last.

@ Jack99 Oscilloscops remained working with cathod ray tubs......

Still love it. Still five stars. I would say that the wife character needed a bit more development. Was she ever really in love with her husband? Hard to say since we really don't know much about her. It is difficult to accept that she could change so drastically in such a short period of time.

A Ph,D. has a hood trimmed in deep blue for Philosophy. The yellow for science is for the degrees below Ph.D. After all, Doctor of Philosophy is just that. And yes, mine is deep blue, and I am a scientist. However, great story!

And entertaining to boot. I loved the Professor Shale bit. Next time Mr. White, in the conservatory, with the candlestick. I think he ended up with the wrong woman and in the wrong place, but you had to put him somewhere. The only part you kinda skipped over was the gun. But that was minor. Overall a fun read. Thanks for the effort.

Wow ... a Who's Who of LIT stars delving deeply. The main quibbles I have have been convincingly exposed by strongguys & giants. FM has already incorporated the lessons.

One quibble, of no great consequence except to question depth of research, is that the highly-rated and famous institutions (not exactly the same) grant tenure to very few of their 'recent-graduate assistant professors!' Those are picked very carefully for research potential. They get several years to do good research, while not being embarassing as teachers. They are expected to support their research budget by grants and maybe contracts. They then move on to very good universities who are glad to get self-funders with elite university experience (thus great contacts). Five to ten years later, if their potential has been realized and they are major contributors to their academic fields, the Majors will bring them in as Full Professors and, once megabucks in grants are generated for the Major, they get established Chairs. Tenure and promotion to Associate Professor for individual Assistant Professrs are topics usually beneath the radar of Provosts and Presidents.

would a been 5***** but I saw a person use a 45 pistol on themselves--------

A geology professor named Shale? Wouldn't Talc be more apposite?

Sylvia is leaving her husband for the university president. But university presidents of small universities don't make a lot of money. We aren't talking about an Ivy League university here. I would have thought that she would go after one of the major contributors.

You can't hold FrancisMacomber accountable for a revolver with a safety when even David Morrell, the guy that wrote the novel that gave us the character Rambo, made that error.

I think a lot asked that question. I guess we all assume he was white, but his name is Shale. So, who knows? ;)

Annika is a nice girl but she's a flake who'll bitterly realize her error and probably start fucking other men to get vengeance on Robert, when she finds out that he's been fucking her friends and everything that walks, crawls or scoots on its ass.

Mosa is a woman who'll appreciate what she has and stay faithful.

I couldn't give four and a half so I gave it five stars.

Another fine story. As someone who is in academia (retiring this year) I want to express appreciation of FM taking some time to outline the miserable situation of academic adjuncts. Everything he said is accurate. Universities have a facade of liberal benevolence, but underneath they are heartless exploiters of desperate labor just like businesses. At this time, seventy percent of courses at American colleges and universities are taught by graduate students and adjuncts, these abused sources of academic labor. Of course the fact that state legislatures have been decreasing support to state institutions for years doesn't help.

Not quite sure where the comment below about a revolver came from. No such reference in the story now. Maybe the story was cleaned up following that comment?

nuff said

Im sorry i know life gets expensive etc. NO way no how are you fucking my wife to get outta debt. Buy a smaller house, a cheaper car. Sorry but this male is a cunt even moreso than his wife. Least the lead protaganist left his cheating bitch

Sounds like the game of CLUE. But this had some holes. The biggest one was when the police didn't trace the gun. Then the question of why he would settle for just 7 figures? Certainly not enough for a lifetime. And why would his graduate assistant (regardless of which one it ended up being) go off with a man that is blacklisted by every major University on what may be a wild goose chase? Not exactly the person to hitch your horse to. After all the detail in getting to the end of the story, I found it to be surprisingly lacking in both detail and plausibility. The disappointing ending ruined the entire story for me.